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There are many Mike Austin self-appointed guru’s/ experts out there that have, as Mike would say, “the damn thing wrong.” That’s hurting a lot of the guys and gals that are trying to learn the real deal. There’s a turn in the Mike Austin golf swing. It’s not just a shift. Why else would Mike Austin be saying to keep the rear knee and hip going until it reaches the big toe? That action is driving the swing. It’s a shift of weight and a turn.

Mike Austin often spoke to me about Babe Ruth. This guy wasn’t call the “Sultan of Swat” for nothing. He’d shift his weight to the back foot and then shift it to the front. Here’s the Babe playing hand ball. Look familiar? He’s certainly not keeping both legs flexed and twisting his upper body against his lower body.

I realize that everyone is clamoring for the hand action. And, it’s coming. But, I can assure you that the lower 6 joint issues are critical – not just the motion, but the angles. They have a direct impact on all the other motions. Done correctly, you can kill it even without adding the hand. Here is a tremendous video on the proper hip action. You can see the results in the swing when done properly. You can hear my reactions in the background. Our buddy, the student, also does a great job of describing the incorrect action.

The right knee is flexed at address. Straightening the right knee pulls the right hip back thirty degrees. (You are now at the 4 o’clock / 10 o’clock position that we have visited before.) The right knee is the trigger. You did nothing actively with your right hip. You then need to move that right hip 120 degrees to the finish – your hips finishing perpendicular to the flight line. Of course, that’s done by the ankles and knees – not by spinning the hips. Note Mike Austin’s “hands on” teaching method. Critics (who, by the way, never took a lesson from the man) love to allege that his teaching was overcomplicated and that he excessively utilized medical terms. To borrow an oft-cited phrase of Mr Austin, “That is crap!”

From my second day of lessons with Mike Austin. The swing does not end at the ball – far from it. Keep the body moving. The ankles, knees, hips and belly button must continue to turn even after reaching the ball.

I have the opportunity to view a lot of clips from Mike Austin enthusiasts. Just remember, it’s not all about speed. It’s about pace and hitting the ball solidly. You can be too fast as Mike Austin made clear to me. That prevents all the parts from being synchronized. A tell tale sign is taking it back too quickly in the backswing. Be cognizant of becoming too fast. Finish your backswing.

Check out the number of tremendous Mike Austin swing keys in this short clip.
These aren’t vague, esoteric swing motions. These are the real deal – precise movements that can be readily incorporated into your swing.
Don’t bend your knees as you push your butt back to take the address. Otherwise, you lose your height.
Raise the heel!!! How many times have I told you that while others refuse to correctly teach Mike Austin’s swing?
The left knee bends/flexes toward the ball.
The left shoulder lowers and the right shoulder raises in the back swing.
AND, for those that argue that the head moves, take a look again.
Better yet, listen to what Mike Austin taught: The head stays in the address position.
But, it only does so when you perform the individual movements of the Mike Austin swing correctly – as he taught it.
That was the genius of the man.

Here’s an example of the level of detail that’s in store.
So many people asked me how they can improve rapidly. I told them what Mike Austin did in his teachings. You can now witness it.
He had people hit balls with just the leg action. Forget the hand action at first.
You must build the foundation. You must go through Kindergarten. I know, I know. Sounds too elementary.
Guess what? You need to get it down. You need to own it. It’s like scales and chords in music.
There’s also magic in proper sequencing – the order in which you learn things.
Study this and practice it. It’s a fundamental to the golf swing and the short game. I will show you later how I failed to do this basic, fundamental move in the short game and the wrath that ensured.
So much is here. Despite what others have preached, notice the left heel raise and then the right heel raise.
See how the right knee continues around in a circular motion. See where it ends up. It’s NOT just a weight shift.
Witness Mike Austin ensuring the proper movement of the right knee.

People have asked if Mike Austin mentioned the QL in my lessons. The answer is “yes”. The QL is the quadratus lumborum, the muscles which attached the pelvic bone to each side of the spine.
There’s been much study and some dispute of late as to the precise function of the QL. Some argue that it aids in lateral flexion, as in a side bend. Others say that it has little to do with that motion. What is intriguing is the studies generally agree with how Mike Austin told me to utilize the QL. Namely, when one side is activated it brings the lowest rib (the 12th rib) down toward the hip.
To get a feel, stand erect and act as if you are going to raise your left heel but don’t allow the foot to raise. You are activating the left QL.
What does that mean to us as golfers? At address the right knee (for a right hander) is flexed. You then straighten it which bumps the right hip to 4 o’clock. At the same time you utilize the QL to crimp in (concave as Mike would say) your left side. That lowers the left hip and shoulder and sets the plane upward. Now your swing can move on the previously discussed “in curve” and the path of the club will naturally move up as it travels along the upward plane set by the left hip and shoulder. But remember our past lesson. You don’t move your head. (You’re not a dinosaur!) How is that possible? You start raising you left heel which allows the turn. Gray’s Anatomy FIG. 389– Deep muscles of the back.

To start the New Year with a bang I am going to give you a big secret of the Mike Austin swing.
It’s your belly button. Yes, your navel. Probably haven’t thought about it that much lately, have you? Unless, it relates to a New Year’s resolution.
However, it’s a major source of power. And yet, you will rarely hear about it. If you swing your belly button back and through you are activating and/or energizing many of the muscles that Mike Austin wanted you to utilize in the swing, including the internal and external obliques, the transverse abdominis, the glutes and the sartorius, just to name a few. The good news is that you don’t have to think about those muscles, if you don’t want to.
Just swing that belly button. The further and faster you move it (albeit smoothly) the further that ball will go.

I decided to do a quick clip on my own in response to questions about the pivot and on the lack of precision hitting experienced by some viewers. If you don’t take the proper measurements at address and don’t keep the head steady, problems with precision may creep in. Actual clips from Mike are to come but this will provide you with some critical foundation.

Welcome! This blog reveals the true, never before released, secrets of golf's longest hitter, Mike Austin. It is the accumulation of hundreds of hours of taking and observing lessons directly with Mike. These are the keys to unlocking effortless power in your golf swing. Enjoy!

"I don't know anybody on the Tour that can hit the ball like that!" Mike Austin about Chuck

This blog reveals the true, never before released, secrets of golf's longest hitter, Mike Austin. It is the accumulation of hundreds of hours of taking and observing lessons directly with Mike. These are the keys to unlocking effortless power in your golf swing. Enjoy!